This invention relates to a vacuum chamber assembly constituting a part of a device such as a sputtering device, a dry-etching device, a CVD device, a vacuum furnace, etc., used in manufacturing such as semiconductor manufacturing, flat-panel manufacturing, and so on.
JP11-50229A discloses a vacuum chamber which can be used in a semiconductor manufacturing system, in which a time for evacuating air after changing consumption articles or after regular maintenance can be decreased.
In the vacuum chamber, joint portions are joined by means of welding, soldering, etc, deformation due to the joint work are removed, and further, a cutting operation or a grinding operation is carried out in order to increase an airtight level. Furthermore, it is necessary to carry out a cleaning operation in order to remove contaminations such as swarf, flux, etc. coming out of the cutting operation or the grinding operation.
Besides, as shown in JP-1-50229A, the vacuum chamber constitutes a part of a device such as a sputtering device, a dry-etching device, a CVD device, or a vacuum furnace. However, up to now, a method, in which the device including the vacuum chamber is assembled in a factory, and then transported and arranged to a specific place, was carried out in order to maintain an airtight level of the vacuum chamber.
However, since the vacuum chamber becomes larger as the device becomes larger, it becomes difficult to transport and arrange the device after assembling it in the factory, so that it becomes necessary, for example, to assemble the device at a worksite such as a factory. As a result, though it is desired to assemble the vacuum chamber on the spot, it is difficult to repair the deformation due to the work in a case in which the vacuum chamber is assembled by means of welding or soldering on the spot, so that problems are caused in the airtight level of the vacuum chamber, and also cleaning of contaminations such as swarf, flux, etc. is very difficult. In the case of desiring extension, the extension must be given up because it is difficult to carry the device into the spot.